Gasgrid Finland CEO Olli Sipilä welcomed the speed of the agreement with Excelerate.
Ultimately, the FSRU will be in Helsinki but it may spend its 1st winter in Estonia.
Sipilä said:
- The project requires seamless co-operation between different actors as well in the future, and the project is progressing as planned
- Leasing an LNG terminal vessel is extremely important, as it ensures security of supply for gas supplies in both Finland and Estonia
- On the other hand, we see that there is a need for the terminal in the wider Baltic Sea region and it has been received with interest
This can store 150,900 m3 of LNG and provide more than 5 billion m3 per year of regas capacity.
Sipilä and Excelerate president and CEO Steven Kobos, with Gasgrid Finland chairman Kai-Petteri Purhonen, signed the deal in Helsinki.
Finnish Minister of Finance Annika Saarikko, Director-General for Energy Riku Huttunen and US Ambassador to Finland Douglas Hickey attended.
Steven Kobos noted:
- Flexible access to LNG is a critical component of European energy security
- We are honoured to collaborate with Gasgrid Finland to deliver essential energy infrastructure that will benefit Finland and more broadly the Baltic Sea region
This includes «diversifying LNG supplies in alignment with climate objectives».
Gasgrid signed a deal with Estonia gas transmission operator Elering early this month.
This allowed for the FSRU to harbour this winter in an Estonian port, if Helsinki was not yet ready.
Finland and Estonia signed a MoU at the end of April on joint leasing of an FSRU.
Excelerate listed in the US in April, raising $416 million.
It also raised a $350 mln revolving credit facility that month.
As of February, the company had 10 FSRUs.
Author: Ed Reed
